Lunchtime read: The Tales of Ivan Belkin

There is a rhythm to the way that Pushkin writes that reads as if it was being read out if you can sense what I mean. There is never really a moment when the pace changes except to get faster as it nears the climax of the story. The result is that these stories are all a pleasure to read.

Lady into LassieTwo neighbouring landowners have fallen out and that situation is the norm until one landowner has his son arrive to live with him. The daughter of the other landowner is intrigued but after hearing from her maid how the young aristocrat flirts with peasant girls she goes in disguise to meet him. Illicit meetings continue but in the meantime following a horsing accident the two landowners meet and start to thaw out their friendship and in the end they agree to let their children get married. Outraged that he is going to be asked to marry someone he doesn’t love the son barges into the girls room unannounced to discover his real love is one and the same as this girl before him.